In August 2010, The Louis Berger Group, in a joint venture with Cummins Power Generation, began construction and installation of a10-megawatt power plant for the Liberia Electricity Corporation on behalf of the U.S. Agency for International Development. Liberia is in the process of re-electrifying after a protracted 14-year civil war, and LEC is working to provide more commercial power both to the capital city of Monrovia and to various outlying townships. LBG’s scope of work included design, construction, and provision of gensets and 22-kilovolt electrical equipment for the plant and switchgear, engineering the synchronization of the new 10-megawatt plant with an existing 5-megawatt plant, design and construction of above ground fuel supply and storage system adequate for seven-day’s operation, design and construction of a hurricane resistant structural cover, and operator training for LEC staff. Prior to the construction of this new plant, LEC had an installed capacity of just 9.6 megawatts for the entire city of Monrovia; the new plant has more than doubled the commercial capacity for the city’s power supply.
On February 14, the plant was officially dedicated at a ceremony attended by USAID Mission Director Ms. Patricia Rader, U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, and Liberian President Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. LBG has since completed all punchlist, turnover, fuel testing and commissioning requirements, on time and on budget, and LEC will be operating the plant moving forward.